Betty Boop Casts Languishing Eye at Beach as New Work Site
Animated cartoon star would move $225,000 retinue here, but creator Max Fleischer has yet to decide. Betty Boop, star of the animated cartoons is thinking seriously of moving headquarters to Miami Beach but there's just a little matter of her creator Max Fleischer giving his approval. Yet decided but meanwhile as the above photo show's he's keeping hand in with a few drawings while vacationing at Miami Beach.) Betty Boop. Hi-De-Ho vaudeville entertainer of the animated cartoons is thinking seriously of moving bad and baggage to Miami Beach. At least that's her idea, if it's all right with her creator Max Fleischer, who with his family is spending a few weeks here and he's giving it serious thought. But while a Garbo or a Dietrich to make such a move would need only to pack the 37 trunks and head southward with Betty it's another story and therein lies the snag. For when Betty decides to change the scene of her operations, it means not only that Mr. Fleischer comes too, but also 140 artists, special cameras and other equipment. It was mention of Betty's retinue which led Mr. Fleischer to tell yesterday of the work involved in making a Betty Boop cartoon. Every time Betty raises her arm six inches in a Boop-Boop-a-Boop gesture it means six complete drawings must be made that is, if she raises it quickly. If it's done to slow tantalizing rhythm, it means eight or nine complete drawings. When Betty winks a provocative wink it means another batch of drawings and so on and infinitum. It goes on like this for days in fact weeks. When you sit in a movie theater and get seven minutes of chuckles from the antics of Betty, you are looking at the combined efforts of 140 artists over a period of nine weeks! There's still another angle to the possibility of her making Miami beach her headquarters. Local business builders will readily agree that it's more important that Miami see Betty than Betty see Miami, for these 140 artists who assist Mr. Fleischer are not working for their health. Mr. Fleischer's annual payroll for these assistants for $225,000 so it's easily understandable that the business leaders would have more than a passing interest in Mr. Fleischer and Betty. Betty's all set to make the change said Mr. Fleischer for "after all as an artist she can appreciate the improved working conditions under the palms", but Mr. Fleischer is figuring the various ramifications of the plan the least of which is a $12,000 moving expense, before he definitely decides. Meanwhile he's enjoying the summer at the Beach. Temporarily located at 911 Washington ave, Mr. Fleischer and his family, which includes his wife and his son, Richard a battalion commander at the Peekskill Military academy, are planning to move into their recently purchased home at Meridian ave, and 10th st, as soon as the papers are completed. Mr. Fleischer a pioneer in animated cartoons evolved the idea while working as a cartoonist on the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. For years he plugged away at it until his work satisfied him enough to permit a test in a Brooklyn theater. The idea caught with the public immediately although a goofy flop-eared dog (Bimbo) was the star at the time instead of Betty. But the hound was destroyed by sound for the public couldn't accept a dog singing "Boo-a-Doop" songs. Maybe it was evolution but at any rate Betty Boop appeared and was a star almost overnight. She's not playing to an audience of 50,000,000 persons a week in America, to say nothing of her European and Far East appearances. Now she's gone in for color the first cartoon of this type was just completed with Betty playing the stellar role in Poor Cinderella. In addition to that she's doing a broadcast cartoon through a newspaper strip, endorsing Betty Boop clothes for children. Yes indeed, Betty's doing all right for herself. As for the Miami angle, Betty according to her creator will at any rate tell 50,000,000 Americans about Miami and the Beach, whether she moves here or not. Category:News Category:Newspapers Category:1934